Honda Civic Hybrid (2006 – 2011) Review

Honda Civic Hybrid (2006 – 2011) At A Glance

Congestion charge exempt if registered before January 2011, cheap car tax.

Rolls a lot in corners, no longer congestion charge exempt after 2011.

Reviews for Honda Civic Hybrid (2006 – 2011)'s top 3 rivals

Toyota Prius

Low CO2 emissions and zero car tax. Spacious cabin makes it a realistic family car. Plug-In version escaped...

Lexus CT 200h

Upmarket hatchback powered by the same hybrid system as the Toyota Prius. Exceptional front seat legroom....

Toyota Auris

Decent combination of ride and handling that might suit some people better than a harder sprung Golf...

Honda Civic Hybrid (2006 – 2011) handling and engines

• Readers report Real MPG to be between 35–58 mpg

Like the old car, leather seats are the only option. Unlilke the old car, and like the UK built Civic 5-door, you get a superb line-of-sight digital speedometer and a rev counter seen through the steering wheel.

The idea is that on start-up and acceleration the petrol engine operates in low-speed valve timing mode with electric motor assist. During low-speed cruising the engine valves close and the car runs on electric motor alone. During gentle acceleration and high-speed cruising the petrol engine operating in low-speed valve timing mode powers the car. During hard acceleration the petrol engine operates in high-speed valve timing mode with motor assist. During deceleration, for example descending a hill with foot off the accelerator, the petrol engine's valves are closed and the electric motor becomes a regenerator, recovering the maximum amount of energy and storing it in the battery. And if you stop in traffic the engine shuts down altogether, starting again as soon as you touch the accelerator.

With a CVT transmission and electric motor assisting the petrol engine, that rev counter performs some peculiar tricks. On hard acceleration it flicks round to 6,000rpm and stays there while the car gathers speed. Alternatively, it will cruise at 30mph per 1,000rpm, and more than 30mph per 1,000rpm descending a long hill, foot off the beans, where you can be travelling at 95mph, at 100mpg and recharging the electric motor's batteries at the same time.

With more conventional controls than a Prius II, the Honda Hybrid seems to be more sporty, and will pick up speed with some alacrity. But the illusion disintegrates on twisty, hilly country roads when a sort of inertia sets in to the way the car handles. It just isn't sprightly.

And progress is certainly far from jerk-free. In the badly signposted, speed camera-festooned traffic nightmare that is Northamptonshire (try following the A43 from Towcester to Corby**) it was roly-poly rounding roundabouts and almost impossible to start smoothly from the umpteen thousand sets of traffic lights. Part of the problem here seems to be the flywheel effect of the electric motor requiring more braking than you would otherwise need. As Andrew English pointed out in his Telegraph test, you are never quite sure how much braking you are going to need with the result that a minor braking drama can quite suddenly turn into a crisis. Then when you are stopped in Drive, the motor shuts down, so you are forced to apply the parking brake or footbrake to stop the car rolling back on a hill.

Fuel economy was good, though not brilliant. Over 281 miles we averaged 42.7mpg. So it looks like the main benefit of the car will be avoiding city centre congestion charges. Or, if you want to put it in more environmental context, avoiding emitting harmful NOX that is the big disadvantage of a diesel engine.

Honda Civic Hybrid (2006 – 2011) interior

• Boot space is 350 litres

The seating and driving position are very comfortable, though. With about the best, most convenient parking brake I have encountered on any car recently. It's perfectly positioned and angled on the driver's side of the central console and a pleasure to use. I like the steering wheel too. It's leather bound, quite small, slightly octagonal, with easy to use radio and cruise control buttons set into the spokes.

Whereas the Thai market Civic 1.8 saloon has fold-down rear seats so luggage can poke through from the boot, there's no such thing on the Hybrid because the space over the back wheels is occupied by the batteries. So it's a lot less versatile than the Prius hatchback. That said, it is a proper five seater with a completely flat rear floor.

Honda Civic Hybrid (2006 – 2011) models and specs

On sale until December 2018

On sale until November 2010